The many responsibilities of certified nursing aides (CNA) requires them to have a sufficient and proper CNA training and education. According to a recent study, a projected 14-20 percent increase in the employment rate of nursing assistants is foreseen in the next ten years. This piece of good news for nursing assistants also increased the number of students that wishes to be a CNA. This influx has lead to more schools and colleges that offer nursing assistant courses.
A nursing assistant, as the title implies, assists nurses and works under the supervision of a registered nurse or a licensed practical nurse. CNA training courses includes instructions on how to perform many basic clinical tasks including setting up of hospital equipment, sterilization of surgical tools, and acting as primary care giver of patients. A nursing assistant’s training also prepared them to perform emergency procedures to patients like cardiopulmonary resuscitation and first aid in the absence of emergency personnel.
Areas in Need of Certified Nursing Assistants
Hospitals and clinics are the primary facilities that employ nursing assistants. Long-term care facilities like nursing homes, retirement homes, and hospices also employ nursing assistants to provide proper and sufficient care for their elderly clients and patients. Some of these facilities also offer CNA training programs for aspiring nursing assistants and uses their facility as the primary hands-on training ground. A certified nursing assistant can also work in a private home to take care of the elderly members of the family.
Duties and Responsibilities of a Certified Nursing Assistant
As a nursing assistant, you are expected to perform the following tasks:
- Provide social and emotional support. As the giver of primary patient care, you are not only expected to attend to the patient’s medical requirements but also to listen to their concerns and help alleviate the stress they feel when undergoing medical procedures.
- Provide information of patient’s conditions to doctors and nurses. As a nursing assistant, it is your responsibility to monitor the patient’s vital signs like blood pressure, blood sugar level, and temperature. You are also tasked to report this information to the registered nurse and attending physician.
- Provide patient with mobility assistance. Your CNA training include procedures on how to prevent bed sores from affecting immobile and bed ridden patients. You are also responsible for your patient’s transfers from their hospital room to check up appointments and tests like X-ray and ultrasound.
- On-call personnel. Your job as nursing assistant includes answering patient’s call signals and keeping the hospital environment generally clean.
Training programs and courses are offered by accredited or state recognized technical schools or community colleges in your area. Here you will be taught about the theoretical concepts and trained on all the medical skills you need as a nursing assistant. These trainings are supervised by registered nurses. You have to comply with the minimum 75 hours training before you are qualified to take the certification exam and complete one-half of your CNA training.
You can also enroll in an online CNA training program. This career path gives you more flexibility in the time you choose to learn all the necessary subjects and may complete the mandatory training hours on a schedule of your own choosing.
To become fully equipped and ready for the duties and responsibilities of a nursing assistant and to improve your skills in preparation for the practical phase of your certification exam, you have to undergo basic hands-on training in clinics, hospitals, specialized nursing facilities, or other similar institutions. Although the duration of required hands-on training is just 75 hours, you can choose to extend your training hours until you are confident that you have ample CNA training to perform your job efficiently.
Susan S. is a certified nursing assistant and was kind enough to write this article for us. She also writes for http://medical-careers-training.com
Find more about schools on her website.